Would you like fries with that?

I’m sure other wives and mothers can relate to an ongoing frustration I have: I try to shake up the cuisine here, while keeping it nutritious and easy to make. Like all other good deeds, it never goes unpunished.

Tonight was a perfect example: Slow Cooker Shredded Korean Beef Tacos. It was a snap to make at 7:30 this morning — a little of this, a little of that, plug in the slow cooker, turn it to low, walk away and get on with the day. At suppertime, I just had to mix up a little cole slaw and warm the flour tortillas, and we were good to go.

So you can understand why I was less than pleased with the reception this new recipe received at the table.

Basil gave it a jaundiced eye, and before having a taste, asked if it needed barbecue sauce.

Catherine piled some on her plate, while asking, “If it sucks, can we eat something else?”

WTF?!

The two of them then launched into a long diatribe about my “unhealthy obsession” with the slow cooker.

Truth is, I love A Year of Slow Cooking, a wonderful blog written by a woman who IS obsessed with her Crock-Pots (yes, plural). Many tasty new recipes have come from this blog during the past year.

What’s more, using the slow-cooker is a terrific way to fuel my multitasking. Dinner bubbles all day long while I come and go, tending to chores and other activities. It’s ready when we’re ready and I don’t have to resort to another night of pasta or reheated leftovers.

I’d described myself as a fair to middling cook. I favor simple dishes and classic fare, but am always willing to try something new. Over the years, there have been many disasters, including the painstakingly rolled spinach-stuffed chicken breasts for which I neglected to wash the spinach first (chewing sand was, well, a meal-breaker); quick breads whose insides remained raw; overcooked pasta; burned rice; soups that didn’t measure up; chocolate that seized up.

I try not to sweat it too much — worst thing that could happen is a meal is too awful to eat and we have bowls of cereal or Chinese food for dinner.

Tonight I was lucky, though. Basil gave the tacos a “10” and a big thumbs up, and even Catherine, who is quite selective in her dining interests, said the recipe was a keeper.